"Ty and I have always tried to live the most authentic life possible, and we wanted our separation as husband and wife to be nothing less loving than the way we came together," she continued. "For some time we have been engaged in a private and difficult, but thoughtful and tender undoing of ourselves. Allowing ourselves the time and space to redefine what we are to each other with love rather than malice."

Jewel, 40, born Jewel Kilcher, and 44-year-old Murray, co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders and a nine-time world champion rodeo cowboy, married in 2008. Their son, Kase Townes Murray, turns 3 on July 11. The couple has lived on a working ranch in Stephenville, Texas.

Saying, "I wanted you to hear it from us, instead of the tabloids," Jewel explained that, "Oddly, the very thing that Ty and I sought in coming together is the very thing we seek in separating. We both value growth. And growth became tragically and undeniably stifled as a couple, and we believe we can find it again in setting each other free. We truly believe we can find greater happiness apart than together. ... "